how to stay healthy and productive while working remotely · •why: decrease stress, boost mood...

How to Stay Healthy and Productive while

Working RemotelyIf you’re planning on working remotely for a

time, there are many ways to ensure you stay healthy, productive, and engaged in life!

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Section 1: Staying Healthy

o Eat Fruits & Vegetables, page 5

o Hydrate, page 6

o Sleep, page 7

o Practice Mindfulness, page 8

o Stay Active, page 9

o Get Outdoors, page 10

o Be Social, page 11

o Laugh, page 12

o Do Good Deeds, page 13

o Practice Gratitude, page 14

o Stay Productive, page 15

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Section 2: Staying Productive

o Keep Your Morning Routine, page 17

o Set Up Your Remote Workspace, page 18

o Follow Set Office Hours, page 19

o Create a To-Do List, page 20

o Keep a Record, page 21

o Schedule Breaks, page 22

o Eat Routinely, page 23

o Set Boundaries, page 24

o Showcase Your Remote Worksite, page 25

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Section 1: Staying Healthy

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Eat Fruits & Vegetables

• Why: Boost immunity, prevent disease

• How much: 5-7 servings daily

• How: Participate in a Nutrition Corner Enjoy More Fruits & Vegetables

5

Hydrate

• Why: Boost immunity

• How much: Drink water throughout the day

• How:

• Listen to the brief Wellcast Healthy

Hydration for Summer Fun

• Read about in this helpful resource

Nutrition 101

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Sleep

• Why: Boost immunity, prevent disease

• How much: 7-8 hours per day

• How:

• Watch the Game Plan for Your Health video

Rest for Success

• Read this helpful resource Sleep

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Practice Mindfulness

• Why: Decrease stress, boost mood and immunity, promote restful sleep, prevent disease

• How much: Daily, for whatever amount of time works well for you

• How: Follow along with the relaxing and

rejuvenating Mindful Break Video

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Stay Active

• Why: Decrease stress, boost mood and immunity, promote restful sleep, prevent disease

• How much: At least 30 minutes physical activity daily

• How:

• Follow along with the simple Bodyweight

Workout Video

• Check out these Online Workouts

• View the Healthier You Presentations Home

Exercise Program and The N.E.A.T. Part of

Exercise

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Get Outdoors

• Why: Sunlight and nature improve both mental and physical health

• How much: At least 20 minutes daily

• How:

• Schedule a short walk or two into your day,

every day!

• Listen to the Wellcast Allow Nature to

Nurture You

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Be Social(even at a distance!)

• Why: Decrease stress, boost mood and immunity

• How much: Daily

• How:

• Have a virtual coffee hour via Facetime or video conferencing (i.e. Zoom or Skype)

• Take a “group” walk – arrange a group of friends or coworkers to all take an individual walk at the same time – text a picture from your walk to your group!

• Host a virtual book club via video conferencing

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Laugh

• Why: Decrease stress, boost mood and immunity

• How much: Daily

• How:

• Do a search for “funny podcasts” and listen in!

• Watch a new comedy show or movie

• Ask friends and family to send you their funniest memes

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Do Good Deeds

• Why: Improve mental health of both giver and recipient

• How much: Daily

• How:

• Facetime a family member

• Mail a friend a card or letter

• Call a neighbor to check in

• Support a local shop or restaurant by buying a gift card for future use

• Listen to the Wellcast The Gift of Giving

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Practice Gratitude

• Why: Decrease stress, boost mood and immunity

• How much: Daily

• How:

• Listen to the Wellcast Why Gratitude is

Good

• Read Building Resilience: Turning Challenges

Into Success - Attitude

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Stay Productive

• Why: Promotes mental health, learning, and growth

• How much: Daily

• How: See the next section!

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Section 2: Staying Productive

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Keep Your Morning Routine

• Why: Sets you up for a productive day, and you will look more professional on camera

• How much: Each workday

• How: Wake, shower, get dressed, etc., then go to “the office” i.e. your workspace

17

Set up Your Remote Workspace

(separate, functional, and thoughtful)

• Why: Allows work to flow (mostly) uninterrupted, shows respect for yourself and your colleagues

• How much: Each workday

• How:

• Set up in a separate area from main living space

• Have necessary equipment in place

• When using conferencing technology, turn on your camera, position camera to shoot straight-on to appear to look eye-to-eye, and try to have neutral or pleasant backdrop behind you (but not a bright window)

18

Follow Set Office Hours

• Why: Whether you’re given hours to follow or you set them yourself, this allows you to both begin and end your workday in a timely fashion allowing for enough time during the day to complete all tasks

• How much: Each workday

• How: If you can, work the same hours you would at the office

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Create a To-Do List(at the end of each day

for the following day)

• Why: You will know exactly what you want to accomplish each day

• How much: Each workday

• How: Either on paper, on your calendar, or in an email to yourself

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Keep a Record (of your accomplishments

at work that day)

• Why: You will know exactly what you accomplished each day - either to report to another or to just enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishing so much

• How much: Each workday

• How: Either on paper, on your calendar, or in an email to yourself

21

Schedule Breaks

• Why: Give your body and your mind a chance to move and wander about, it gets blood and creativity flowing

• How much: Each workday

• How: Schedule breaks into your day to move and let your mind wander

22

Eat Routinely(as you would at the

office)

• Why: You may have unprecedented access during the workday to food if you are working from home, eating more at meals and snacks than usual may cause blood sugar changes that affect thinking and mood…it may also lead to weight gain

• How much: Each workday

• How:

• Schedule mealtimes on your calendar

• Don’t eat in your work area

• Read this helpful resource Mindset Makeover – Your Relationship with Food

• Track what you’re eating with an app such as My Fitness Pal

23

Set Boundaries

• Why: Distinguishing “I’m at work right now” from “I’m available to family/friends/neighbors right now” will help you stay focused during work hours

• How much: As often as necessary

• How:

• Share your work hours with anyone who may be tempted to interrupt you

• Close a door between your work area and the rest of your environment if you can

• Use headphones or earbuds as a visual clue you’re not to be disturbed

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Showcase Your Remote Worksite

• Why: This may simply be part of your current work/life balance!

• How much: Occasionally ☺

• How:

• Send a photo of a child who is helpfully testing out each and every one of your pens…including the one you just reached for

• Have your curious dog make a cameo appearance at the end of your conference call

• Go ahead and send your coworker with a sense of humor the gibberish email your cat just typed by walking back and forth across your keyboard…and sign it from your cat!

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